Carvajal: Teenage pregnancy

This is really not within my political column’s purview, but I feel constrained to discuss it seeing as I do that some legislators are riding their political expediency instinct and knee-jerking off solutions that lack appreciation of the problem’s complexity.

To solve a problem, it must first be precisely defined. To define teenage pregnancy, one must first know its precise location or pinpoint the teenage demographic group where it mostly occurs. Since nobody gets pregnant without sex, data might, therefore, have to be gathered on the demographic profile of those who engage in pre-marital sex. A tricky thing to do but necessary. Here’s why.

It is fairly safe to presume that teenagers who engage in pre-marital sex come from across the whole socio-economic and educational spectrum. It is equally safe to presume that not all of them get pregnant. Some are simply not fertile. Others are rich and educated enough to use natural or artificial methods of pregnancy prevention. Still others might be resorting to illegal abortions.

One critical question to answer with scientific data is how many of those who get pregnant come from dysfunctional families or broken homes. This is another facet of the problem as family dysfunction, which also happens across the socio-economic and educational spectrum, could cause a teenager to seek emotional refuge in a sexual relationship. Once we know the economic status, the educational attainment, and the family situation of those who get pregnant in their teens we can start thinking of solutions. Yes, solutions, as in plural, because the data might tell us we have many inter-related problems to solve like pre-marital sex, family psychological health, pregnancies, abortions, etc.

I have also this sneaking suspicion that the problem of teenage pregnancy runs parallel to the problem of the unplanned number and spacing of children of poor ill-educated families. Rich and educated teenagers might not be getting pregnant because they know and can afford artificial contraceptives and, why not, safe albeit illegal abortions. This is a sneaking suspicion that concerned government agencies (Commission on Population, Department of Health?), civic and religious groups, parents and guardians might have to check out.

My point here is to have a data-based analysis to determine the core of the problem. Pre-marital sex is a moral problem that permissive modern living tempts the young, rich and poor alike, to engage in. Teenage pregnancy might also be the flipside of abortion. Finally, dysfunction might be the bigger social problem afflicting rich and poor families.

In sum, it is a complex, multi-faceted problem with neither the core nor any of its facets having easy answers. Social-psychologists are best left to study it scientifically and in-depth. Meanwhile, our legislators should refrain from shooting blanks at a problem that is more complicated than their politically clouded minds could grasp.